Dubai is set for the launch of a new cryptocurrency exchange, according to reports in local media.

The first of its kind in United Arab Emirates (UAE), the new exchange is being hailed as a landmark development in the maturing Dubai crypto market, as industry, regulators and government continue to chase cryptocurrency business and investment.

As reported in The Gulf Today, crypto firm Crypto Bulls has teamed up with Al Zarooni Group and Gulf Coin Gold to launch the Crypto Bulls exchange, an exchange which will focus on the Dubai market.

Suhail Al Zaroon, chairman of the Al Zarooni Foundation, said the move would help UAE attract investment from more cryptocurrency businesses and investors. He was quoted by the news outlet as saying, “This will be the milestone for getting global investments opportunity from all over the Globe in UAE, as all financial techs [companies] and investors are looking forward in Crypto & Blockchain Industry.”

The new crypto exchange has the backing of the government in UAE, which harbors ambitions of transforming Dubai into a haven for blockchain and cryptocurrency businesses—following the footsteps of jurisdictions such as Malta, South Korea and Singapore.

The government has previously launched its blockchain strategy, which targets 50% of government transactions on blockchain by 2021.

As a result, Dubai has recently seen a number of measures drafted in support of the sector, including new regulation for the sector, as well as the pending launch of a government backed cryptocurrency.

Shasha Gupta of Crypto Bulls said, “With this unique support from UAE government, Crypto Bulls would be able to attract a huge number of foreign investments in crypto from Asia & Middle East.” He noted that the industry has experienced significant growth in the region in recent years, with strong demand for crypto trading services from within Dubai.

The exchange will allow investors to trade against local currency Arab Emirate Dirham, although it remains unclear as to which specific currency pairs will be supported at launch.

The development is being seen as a positive step towards turning Dubai into a crypto hotspot, at a time of increasing competition from rival jurisdictions.

Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.

Dubai has rolled out the first government-endorsed blockchain platform as-a-service in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Smart Dubai, a government technological initiative, and IBM Corp. announced the launch of the Dubai Blockchain Platform—the first of its kind platform in the Middle East that will allow organizations in the country to test, build and launch blockchain-based products. The platform will utilize IBM’s enterprise-ready IBM Cloud, and will be developered United Arab Emirates. Once launched, the platform will be available for organizations in the UAE to test, build and launch blockchain-based products. This service will be delivered via an IBM Cloud environment built in the UAE.

In a statement, Dr. Aisha Bint Butti Bin Bishr, director general of the Smart Dubai Office, said, “The Dubai Blockchain Strategy set a clear path for the emirate to have the world’s first fully digitized government by 2021.” The Dubai Blockchain Platform is part of the country’s objective towards “transforming the emirate into a full-fledged smart city that tops global competitiveness and happiness indexes,” according to the official.

The new Dubai Blockchain Platform will aid in integrating digitized services and experiences into citizens’ everyday lives. The technology will also be used to run all the transactions locally, and also lower operational costs. One of the first services that will migrate to the new blockchain platform is the Dubai Pay Blockchain Settlement program, which officially launched last September 23. The program allows entities to reconcile and settle payments with other government agencies in mere minutes instead of the usual 45 days.

The platform, which is powered by IBM‘s mainframe technology LinuxONE, will conform to the Information Security Regulation (ISR) standards issued by the Dubai Government. LinuxONE is capable of running more than 6.2 billion web transactions per day.

“Dubai has been a pioneer in blockchain technology since its inception, while other major cities around the world were reluctant to embrace it for city-wide implementation,” H.E. Dr Aisha noted, adding “The Dubai Blockchain Strategy set a clear path for the emirate to have the world’s first fully digitized government by 2021.”

Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.